Twitter, with more than 200 million users still needs to work a lot to improve its presence amongst Indians. But, in the past few months, many Indians (along with many of my friends) have signed up for the social networking buzz.

Twitter allows you and your brand to reach a diverse audience through a simple 140 characters message. In this post, I won’t make a lot of fuss about the pros and cons of using Twitter. Rather, I’d make it simple for the folks who want to join Twitter by listing 5 important tips to keep in mind when on Twitter. Remember, optimum utilisation of any resource should be given paramount importance and in this new age world of ever-increasing competition, it is always better to be prepared beforehand, whether it is a battle or a Twitter-entry.

1. Why do you want a Twitter profile? – You need to work this out before anything else – why do you need a Twitter profile? Many people have joined Twitter just because their friend or relative was there. Actually, it’s not a bad reason at all for joining as this is what the essence of social networking is all about – seeing others do it, and following it. But still, you need to know that you can use your Twitter profile in the following ways and perhaps other ways too –

• On a personal level to share your life with friends and family.
• For building up your company’s profile and network.
• Just for the sake of having a Twitter profile

2. Tweet my friend, just tweet – You are on Twitter and you don’t tweet, wow. Start tweeting now as that’d help you set the message across the table to your desired audience. Whether it is enhancing your personal profile, or your company’s, posting the right       tweets will do a ton of good for you. Start tweeting responsibly and in style. Don’t forget that if you posted statuses on Facebook, you can easily tweet here as well.

3. Follow others and see them line-up behind you – Follow other people, and try engaging them into a conversation. Slowly, people will notice your tweets, and respond. If they’d like you, they might even decide to follow you – which in the long run is great as it will add up to your network. Remember that your tweets will have an importance for your business only when you post useful tweets regularly, and that too when you have a good amount of followers.

4.  Interactive tweets make you a Twit-winner – Choose the popular topics and tweet about them. A great way of doing this would be to ask questions about the topic, and then you’d see the replies streaming in. Use the ‘reply’ button frequently as that is what   starts a conversation on Twitter. Plus, see what other people tweeted on your followers profile, and try connecting with them as well.

The beauty of Twitter lies in its multi-dimensional approach. Many people can voice their opinions on one platform. A single tweet, and the replies pour in.

5.  Say a no-no to spam -  Don’t just keep posting about your business all the time. Tweet about the current happenings and general topics as well. This would allow your audience to see you as an intelligent person or company. After all, this is what branding is all about.